Editing Two-step flow of communication (section)

=== Contemporary debate ===

In the times of digital social media, the more than six decade old theory sparks much new interest. The fact that massive databases are being used to send tailor-made messages to individuals leads back to the idea of a "one-step flow of communication".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=W. Lance |last2=Manheim |first2=Jarol B. |title=The One-Step Flow of Communication |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |date=November 2006 |volume=608 |issue=1 |pages=213–232 |doi=10.1177/0002716206292266 |s2cid=143812403 }}</ref> The idea is a kind of [[Hypodermic needle model|Hypodermic needle / magic bullet model]], with the capacity of [[big data]] analytics informed [[mass customization]]. Empirical studies by other scholars, in contrast, have found that modern [[social media]] platforms, like [[Twitter]], exhibit clear evidence of a two-step flow of communication.<ref name="HilbertTwostep">{{cite journal |last1=Hilbert |first1=Martin |last2=Vásquez |first2=Javier |last3=Halpern |first3=Daniel |last4=Valenzuela |first4=Sebastián |last5=Arriagada |first5=Eduardo |title=One Step, Two Step, Network Step? Complementary Perspectives on Communication Flows in Twittered Citizen Protests |journal=Social Science Computer Review |date=August 2017 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=444–461 |doi=10.1177/0894439316639561 |s2cid=148054459 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0nn4p7mv }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Choi |first1=Sujin |title=The Two-Step Flow of Communication in Twitter-Based Public Forums |journal=Social Science Computer Review |date=December 2015 |volume=33 |issue=6 |pages=696–711 |doi=10.1177/0894439314556599 |s2cid=61637178 }}</ref> Many [[social media]] users obtain their news from [[celebrities]] or other amplifying opinion leaders, who again get informed by [[mass media]] or by individuals with specific insights. The fine-grained digital footprint of [[social media]] also suggests that there are more than simply the one-step and two-step modes of communication flow, leading the search for more complex '''Multistep Flow Models''' based on distinct network structures.<ref name="HilbertTwostep"/><ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Stansberry |first1=Kathleen |title=One-Step, Two-Step, or Multi-Step Flow: The Role of Influencers in Information Processing and Dissemination in Online, Interest-Based Publics |date=2012 |hdl=1794/12416 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

A study done on the Annang people of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria defined how mass media has changed the role of traditional leaders regarding the two-step flow theory. The study showed that mass media creates awareness, but does not cause people to change their thoughts or actions. The study displayed that people hear information from the media, but rely on their opinion leaders to verify and provide context. <ref>{{Cite book |title=Indigenous African communication and media systems in a digitized age |date=2024 |publisher=The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc |isbn=978-1-6669-6530-8 |editor-last=Akpan |editor-first=Unwana Samuel |location=Lanham |editor-last2=Mutua |editor-first2=Eddah M. |editor-last3=Wilson |editor-first3=Des}}</ref>The emergence of mass media has not made opinion leaders obsolete. Instead, it has changed the role that opinion leaders play. Opinion leaders and mass media work together to inform people.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Serafino |first1=Matteo |last2=Virginio Clemente |first2=Giulio |last3=Flamino |first3=James |last4=Szymanski |first4=Boleslaw K |last5=Lizardo |first5=Omar |last6=Makse |first6=Hernán A |date=2024-11-30 |title=Analysis of flows in social media uncovers a new multi-step model of information spread |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-5468/ad8748 |journal=Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment |volume=2024 |issue=11 |pages=113402 |doi=10.1088/1742-5468/ad8748 |arxiv=2409.01225 |bibcode=2024JSMTE2024k3402S |issn=1742-5468}}</ref>